Air-cooled heat transfer device with integrated and mechanized air pre-cool system
A once-through dry adiabatic cooler having an integrated factory installed air pre-cooler system that is mechanized to move from a shipping position to an operational position.
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The present invention relates to air-cooled heat transfer equipment.
Description of the BackgroundAir-cooled heat exchangers remove heat from a working fluid by transferring that heat to the air. Air-cooled heat exchangers typically consist of tubes connected to fins. The working fluid is sent through the inside of the tubes and the heat is conducted to the outside of the tubes and the fins. Air passing over the fins and tubes removes this heat; one or more fans are generally used to move the air. The working fluid can be a liquid, a gas, a condensing refrigerant, or any other fluid that needs to have heat removed. The tubes are typically constructed of copper, aluminum, or stainless steel but other metals and non-metals have been used. Fins are typically made from copper or aluminum but other thermally conductive materials have been used.
For heat to be removed from the working fluid, the temperature of the working fluid must be greater than the temperature of the air. The greater the temperature difference between the air and the working fluid the less is needed to remove the heat; hence the less fan horsepower is needed to move the air.
A known way to lower the ambient air temperature is by adiabatic cooling. With adiabatic cooling an amount of water is either sprayed in the air or over some open-mesh panels. The water evaporates and cools the air with the air dry-bulb temperature approaching the wet-bulb temperature. The adiabatically-cooled air will have a higher humidity level and a lower dry-bulb temperature than the untreated air. A lower dry-bulb temperature will allow cooling at a lower airflow or cooling the working fluid to a lower temperature both of which are desirable effects.
There are various approaches for adiabatic cooling of air-cooled heat-exchangers. In one method the incoming ambient air passes through pre-cooling system featuring an open-mesh panel that has been saturated with water. The panel can be saturated by a drip-feed, spray, or other method to saturate the panel. The water evaporates as the air passes through the panel cooling the incoming air. There are many variations on the type and location of these panels but all have the incoming air passing through a water saturated panel.
These pre-cooling systems are often supplied after-market and are always shipped separately from the air cooled systems to which they are coupled and therefore require field installation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention features an air cooled heat transfer device including a factory installed air pre-cooling system coupled to and integrated with the primary air-cooled heat transfer equipment, and further including a mechanism for shifting the air pre-cooling system from a shipping position to an operational position.
The invention eliminates separation between the primary heat transfer equipment and the air precooled system prior to shipment while keeping the equipment within legal shipping dimensions which in turn significantly reduces equipment installation effort.
The factory assembled air cooled heat transfer device including integrated air pre-cooling system preferably includes the following primary components to facilitate proper operation and ensure non-permit shipping dimensions: pivoting water distribution header, removable water distribution and adiabatic pads, adjustable incremental framing, incremental adiabatic pad support angles, dual-function drip tray/adiabatic pad bottom support, multi-functional drip pan, and adiabatic base frame support/unit structural enhancement.
The present integrated air pre-cooling system and air-cooled heat transfer device of the invention allows an air cooled system to operate at the same ambient dry bulb temperature in comparison to non-pre-cooled air equipment while achieving significantly higher heat rejection capability. Alternately, air cooled heat transfer equipment with an air pre-cooling system, can provide equivalent heat rejection while operating at a significantly higher ambient dry bulb temperature.
An example of a V-shaped cooler is shown in
The principles of operation of a V-shaped air-cooled heat exchanger of the type shown in
An example of a V-shaped cooler with adiabatic pre-cooling pads is shown in
The principles of operation of a V-shaped air-cooled heat exchanger with adiabatic pads for pre-cooling the incoming air is shown in
An example of an embodiment of the invention including a V-shaped air-cooled heat exchanger with integrated factory installed air pre-cooling system is shown in
When the device is ready to be shipped, all the adiabatic pads are in the position shown in
When the device has arrived at its installation site, the deployment/positioning control system 17 is activated by an operator/installation technician causing the elements of the pre-cooling system are automatically moved sequentially into a fully deployed operational configuration.
When the top pads have moved into their final location, the intermediate pad support elements are automatically raised towards their final operational configuration by pad support element positioning mechanisms 21, see
In a next step, if the top adiabatic support element is not already in the fully deployed and raised position, it will be automatically moved into that position.
Once the top adiabatic pads are in operational position, and the top and intermediate adiabatic support elements are likewise in their operational positions, the water distribution tube is automatically rotated out of its shipping position into its operational position by water distribution tube positioning mechanism 23, see, e.g.,
The adiabatic pad positioning mechanism, adiabatic pad support element positioning mechanisms, and the water distribution tube positioning mechanism are connected to and activated by positioning control system 17.
Various mechanical and control systems for moving the elements of the air pre-cool system from the shipping positions into their operational positions are well within the ability of the person of ordinary skill to make and use and the invention is not intended to be limited to any specific mechanism or control system for doing so.
Claims
1. A dry adiabatic cooler, comprising:
- a frame:
- two tube bundles arranged in said frame in a vertically oriented V-shape;
- each of said two tube bundles having an inlet header and an outlet header, said inlet header configured and located to receive hot process fluid and to distribute said hot process fluid to a corresponding tube bundle and said outlet header configured and located to receive cooled process fluid from said corresponding tube bundle;
- said two tube bundles each comprising a plurality of horizontally arranged finned tubes connected to adjacent tubes with tube bends;
- a plurality of fans supported by said frame above said two tube bundles configured to draw air through said two tube bundles and out through a top of said plurality of fans;
- a plurality of upper adiabatic pads and a plurality of lower adiabatic pads mounted in said frame adjacent to an air intake side of each said two tube bundles, said plurality of upper adiabatic pads having upper adiabatic pad shipping positions laterally adjacent respective ones of said plurality of lower adiabatic pads and upper adiabatic pad operational positions above respective ones of said plurality of lower adiabatic pads;
- a water distribution system comprising one or more water distribution tubes configured and located to wet and cool said air prior to being drawn through said two tube bundles;
- said water distribution tubes each having a water distribution tube shipping position and a water distribution tube operational position, said water distribution tube shipping position located adjacent said frame, and said water distribution tube operational position located above said adiabatic pads and configured to deliver water to said adiabatic pads;
- a plurality of adiabatic pad crossbars each having an adiabatic pad crossbar shipping position and an adiabatic pad crossbar operational position; and
- a water collection tray located below said adiabatic pads and configured to collect water draining from said adiabatic pads.
2. A dry adiabatic cooler according to claim 1, further comprising a control system configured to cause said plurality of upper adiabatic pads, said one or more water distribution tubes, and said plurality of adiabatic pad crossbars to move from respective shipping positions to respective operational positions.
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Type: Grant
Filed: Sep 19, 2018
Date of Patent: Sep 29, 2020
Patent Publication Number: 20190137183
Assignee: Evapco, Inc. (Taneytown, MD)
Inventor: Tom Byrne (Aalborg)
Primary Examiner: Stephen Hobson
Application Number: 16/136,134
International Classification: F28C 1/14 (20060101); F28F 13/00 (20060101); F28F 25/04 (20060101); F28B 1/06 (20060101); F28D 5/00 (20060101);